Cruise Ship Review

In the embarkation lounge, my eyes were searching for signs of youth. A Hello Kitty backpack, a stuffed animal, a Game Boy, a mouth full of braces, anything. I was about to begin a seven-night cruise with my husband and our five-year-old son, and even as we'd booked our tickets, the jury was still out on whether Holland America's stately Maasdam was a good choice for a family. I'd done enough research to know that there are plenty of older Holland America devotees who make no bones about the fact that the absence of kids is, for them, a good thing. There are 60-somethings who've said they felt like spring chickens on this line's ships. But I'd heard that demographics were changing, that the late summer season cruises out of Boston would have plenty of family appeal.

Turns out I didn't need to be. While the ship does lack the state-of-the-art facilities and programs offered by lines for whom families are a significant passenger base, Maasdam was just fine. There were enough kids onboard that a certain critical mass was achieved--but not so many that adults looking for Holland America's brand of sedate-style cruising would be annoyed.

With its mid-sized capacity and classic styling, Maasdam is a manageable and pleasant ship. After thirteen years in service, it has succeeded in retaining its youth--with a major sweep of contemporary updates just last year--but has resisted the impulse to act like a teenager. As such, Maasdam has retained some of the traditional sensibilities that appeal to its older audience base--high tea, formal nights, ballroom dancing, and displays of antiques--while adding elements to appeal to younger audiences (and not just families at that), with features that include a contemporary alternative restaurant, wireless hotspots, and an iPod tour of the aforementioned antiques.

Indeed, there are some of us who say hats off to Maasdam for resisting some of the more radical trends of the behemoth ships (no surfing wave simulators or rock-climbing walls here), while stepping ahead on other fronts, with an extensive state-of-the-art library, for example. For my little family, it proved to be an enjoyable ship on which to spend a week meandering up the New England coast.

Dining

Maasdam's restaurants are the grand Rotterdam Dining Room, the bustling and bountiful Lido buffet, and the intimate and subdued Pinnacle Grill. Add a casual poolside option for burgers and dogs, a coffee bar, and round-the-clock complimentary room service, and dining options are well covered

The Lido buffet is cheerful and efficient and has great views from floor-to-ceiling windows. Lido serves continental breakfast starting at 6:30am, full breakfast from 7 to 11am; lunch from 11am to 2pm.; and dinner from 6 to 7:30pm. There are extended hours at Lido for sandwiches, ice cream or special late-night offerings, and coffee and tea are available there at all times. Even at peak times, we found the lines to be manageable, and there were plenty of available tables.

As with most buffets, Lido is characterized by variety, quantity and quickness--and quality is sometimes a casualty of this emphasis. But most things were just fine. Breakfast options include made-to-order omelets and specialty pancakes, generous servings of bacon or sausage, rather good muesli, and a host of unspectacular pastries.

For dinner, the Rotterdam Dining Room, the ship's elegant, two-tier restaurant, is the main event. As you enter, your eyes are drawn upward to the hundreds of Murano glass flowers covering the ceiling, and certainly outward, to the floor-to-ceiling views of the ocean. There is early seating at 5:45 and 6:15pm, and "main" seating at 8 and 8:30pm.

Editor's Note: In spring 2008, Maasdam will introduce an "As You Wish" dining option. The "As You Wish" program will give guests the flexibility to do same-day reservations or even walk-in seating on one level of the Rotterdam Dining Room, while the other level will continue to operate on the traditional fixed-seating plan.

Rotterdam's dinners are advertised as five-course affairs, but by my count, they are three: appetizer, main course, and dessert. Menu choices include daily chef's specials, plus "Greenhouse Spa" options, vegetarian choices, and sugar-free selections among the desserts. The food is good but largely falls short of superb.

I was glad to see that there was a kids menu with all the usual suspects: macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, pizza, fries.

Maasdam is not heavy on dining room theatrics, but there are a few nods in the theme-evening direction: an Indonesian night with traditional music and dancing, a parade of sparkler-studded Baked Alaska, something called "Master Chef's" night that involved a rather silly tossing of salad vegetables, but it never veered too far from its civilized atmosphere.

Maasdam's service really shines in the Dining Room--from the greeter at the ready with the de rigueur squirt of Purell as you enter, to the gentleman offering a piece of candied ginger or dried fig as you exit. Servers remember drink orders, bring extra bread if you like, and graciously indulge in banter about port-day activities or the weather or the usual questions about what it's like to work on a cruise ship.

Maasdam's progressive alternative restaurant, Pinnacle Grill, is worth the $30 per person surcharge, especially considering what you'd pay for a comparable restaurant experience off ship. Meals are beautifully presented on Bvlgari china and tables are covered in Frette linens. Stemware is Riedel.

Pinnacle's menu nods to the Pacific Northwest and emphasizes steaks, lamb chops, and fish. Service was slightly akimbo on our evening at Pinnacle, owing, we learned, to a booking glitch that had the restaurant operating beyond its capacity.

Public Rooms

The ship's size and layout make for easy orientation. After a short walk around, my husband announced that he had "gotten it down." Basically, the ship is anchored at one end by the two-level Rotterdam Dining Room and at the other by the two-story Rembrandt Lounge, with most public facilities grouped mainly in the middle on Decks 6, 7, and 8. Lido Deck is 11, with the gym, spa, kids club, and sports deck topping out on 11 and 12.

There are plenty of spaces on the decks to lounge about and read or rest, both in more populated zones (near the pools) and also off the beaten path. My favorite private spot was Deck 9 aft, where it was altogether possible to be alone. Others--readers, snoozers, and snoozers pretending to be readers--preferred the teak lounges around the Promenade deck, all facing the sea, which can be equally quiet.

Maasdam's public spaces showcase a collection art and antiques that reflect HAL's Dutch seafaring lineage--a 19th-century wooden sculpture of a yawner (Gaaper, in Dutch), a gilded side table from 18th-century Italy, a canon barrel from the 14th century. But one of Maasdam's most notable art pieces is quite contemporary--the towering glass sculpture by Luciano Vistosi that rises three levels from the Atrium, providing a dramatic visual axis for the public spaces.

Cabins

HAL has a reputation for relatively spacious cabins, and Maasdam bears this out. Our Verandah Suite (284 square ft.) was plenty roomy for our family of three, and it may not be an exaggeration to say we had more closet space per person on this cruise than we do in our New York City apartment. Closets hold extra blankets, some wood and a few satin-wrapped hangers, and a personal safe (along with life jackets).

There are efficiently arranged and relatively spacious standard cabins at 197 square ft (outside) and 182 square ft. (inside), and Deluxe Verandah Suites at 563 square ft. And then there's the ultra-deluxe Penthouse Suite, at 1,126 square ft. A half dozen cabins can accommodate passengers with disabilities.

Stateroom decor is pleasingly understated: framed nautical maps, light wood and neutral color schemes, variable lighting. Inside cabins have a trompe l'oeil lighting effect--a light behind a curtain where there might otherwise be a window--a nice try.

Beds in all cabins configure to two twins or one queen, and the suites have a convertible sofa bed that makes a comfortable additional single. There are DVD players and flat-screen televisions running movies, vintage sitcoms (Green Acres, Gilligan's Island), documentaries, navigational stats, and endless re-runs of shows of the frightfully low-budget cruise ship videos.

In-room fridges are filled with a variety of beverages--you take it, you buy it. Alas, the complimentary in-cabin fruit basket has given way to a card on which to mark your order for the fruit you might like to have. This struck me as just a little bit parsimonious. Seems to me it's the gesture of the fruit basket--the impression that creates when you enter the room--that matters more than the option of requesting fruit from an order form.

Verandahs have a padded chaise, a faux rattan chair, and a table just large enough for a drink or a magazine, but probably not both. Deluxe Verandah Suites on Deck 10 have double-wide verandahs (two chaise lounges plus a table with four chairs), and the rooms themselves feature modern curved sofas, glass-topped coffee tables, a bathroom with a separate vanity area, granite bars, and marble floors. Guests in Deluxe Verandah Suites and the Penthouse Suite enjoy use of the exclusive Neptune Lounge, featuring a coffee/cappuccino machine and cold beverages, hors d'oeuvres, and sweets throughout the day, as well as wing chairs, a substantial table for dining or game playing, a large fresh flower arrangement, and its own library of premium art books--from Rembrandt's drawings to Annie Leibovitz's photographs to Tom Ford's fashions. It's a nice spot and appeared to be under-utilized.

Bathrooms in all cabins have tubs with showers, except inside cabins, which have showers only. Toiletries include shampoo, conditioner, two kinds of soap, shower gel, and body lotion. The brand is "Elementi," the same citrusy/herbal line used in the ship's spa. There are retractable clotheslines in the bathtubs (handy for drying swimsuits) and in-bathroom hair dryer, plus a second hair dryer near the desk/vanity in the suites.

Dry cleaning and laundry service are available for a fee (complimentary for guests in Deluxe Verandah Suites), and there are two onboard laundry facilities (with irons/ironing boards) if you decide you need to do a small load or two to get you through.

Entertainment

By day there is little by way of serious enrichment lectures--at least on my recent seven-night cruise--but there was Bridge, Bingo, trivia games, Sudoku, cooking demos, movies, mixology classes, or Friends of Bill W. meetings. Poolside bands add a festive air on sea days and sailaways.

Throughout the day and evening, the New York Times-sponsored Explorations Cafe is an active hub. It holds over 2,000 books (fiction, literature, travel, history, Harry Potter), plus a host of periodicals and a DVD library (complimentary for passengers in Deluxe Verandah Suites; modest charge for others). There are touch-screen interactive maps, write-on/wipe-off crossword puzzle tables, and a cubby of games and puzzles, though they saw relatively little use on our cruise, thanks to consistently superb weather. By the end of a seven-night cruise, the collective efforts of Maasdam's passengers had managed to put together about half of a 3,000-piece puzzle. There's an adjacent card room and several computer/Internet stations (75 cents per minute with volume pricing available). I sat for a few minutes in a reproduction Eames chair and tried out the music listening stations, poking around to test its range: Prokofiev? There. REM? Got it. Soundtrack from Chicago? Check. Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Yep.

Maasdam's shore excursions covered a range of options with no big surprises. On our New England/Canada itinerary, for instance, the Historic New England/Canada coast offerings included Victorian tea, a "Haunted Halifax" tour and sea kayaking with a classic lobster bake. Excursion pricing ranged from $29 for a two-hour walking tour of Halifax to $359 for an interactive "Soldier for a Day" package, with most excursions in the $40 - $90 range. I did find that the "book early" advice was worth heeding. I didn't, and found that by mid-week, many of the most appealing excursions were fully subscribed.

Evening entertainment includes the obligatory casino (where, alas, smoking is still permitted), eight different bars catering to beer-and-baseball moods in Casino Bar, after-dinner drinks and classical strings at the Ocean Bar, or a stiff one and a melancholy round of Bye Bye Miss American Pie at the Piano Bar. Then there was the scene at the Crow's Nest (Deck 12), the ship's modish disco, with loud music and louder lighting effects and even louder curvy hot pink sofas. DJ Jazzy did a fair job of trying to rally the crowd with electric slides and trivia contests, but the dance floor seemed to be mainly populated by off-duty staff members: pretty spa ladies and cast members from the musical revue.

Ah, the shows. Yes, there are the standard cruise ship musical extravaganzas, magic shows, and comedians. These take place in the Rembrandt Lounge, fancily done up in Delft tiles, brass and Mahogany, metallic fabric wall covering, ship-print carpeting, and settees and sofas in lieu of standard auditorium seating. Shows occur twice nightly to accommodate both early and late diners. The theater was full most evenings, and the applause was generous. My son was enraptured by the shows, and my husband was a good sport (until he could stand no more); I'd say their responses typify the range.

Fitness & Recreation

The fitness center is open daily from morning to night and has a range of equipment and activities--from Pilates to weight machines and the various climbing and biking simulators--all with views on the sea. Maasdam has two modestly sized pools: a saltwater pool on the Neptune Deck (10) and the fresh water Lido Pool with its sculptural trio of dolphins that's a magnet for kids. The Lido pool is flanked by two hot tubs and can be sheltered by a retractable cover to keep rain and/or intense sun rays out. On the "Sports Deck" (12), there's a serviceable basketball court, tennis, shuffleboard. There is a quarter-mile walking/jogging course on the Promenade Deck (6).

Time ran out before I could book a treatment at the Greenhouse Spa & Salon, but the place--colorful and sensual--looked inviting, and the menu of services was enticing. Just reading about the "Alpha Massage Capsule Destress Package" or "Nurturing Relaxation Ceremony" made me feel already less stressed, more nurtured and relaxed, while reading "Exotic Coconut Rub" and "Lime & Ginger Salt Glow" made me crave a Margarita. There are nine varieties of massage (plan on dropping $109 - $200 or more), as well as more proletariat salon rituals like haircuts (from $59) and polish changes ($19). There's complimentary fruit and herbal tea, as well as robes and spa sandals and access to the Thermal Suite, a quiet blue and yellow tiled oasis with saunas and whirlpools and aromatherapy showers and heated tile lounges.

Family

Maasdam's Club HAL facility is clearly an after thought, compact and low slung. It operates on at-sea days and on a limited basis (pre-registration required) during port days, and in the evenings from 7:30-9:30pm. Kids can stay for "After Hours" activities until as late as midnight, with a $5/hour per child charge after 9:30pm. Programs are geared to Kids (ages 3-7), Tweens (8-12), and Teens (13-17). There's a sign-in/sign-out sheet and "password" system for pick-up for the youngest group, but Tweens and Teens come and go as they please.

Club HAL's programming is modest and could be developed a bit more. It tends to skew more toward easy entertainment (PlayStation, Disney movies, coloring, ice cream) than truly imaginative or enriching activities, and more than once, descriptions exceeded the delivery. An "Alien Night" failed to produce much that really related to aliens. And a "Pajama Party" didn't deliver on the advertised "ultimate pillow fight" until one mom (ahem)--with a disappointed son who'd brought along his own pillow--spoke up and urged the staff to make good on the promo copy. A quick round of pillow whopping was quickly pulled together.

Club HAL features what I came to call "PlayStation Jail," a windowless room with six or so PlayStation systems, usually occupied by zoned-out boys whose only sign of life was their moving thumbs. I struggled hard to reconcile this with the cruise experience. Then again, my kid's still young. Give me a few years, and I may understand. A teen corner is little more than a corner, but a small gaggle gathered there nightly for music videos, UNO and, probably, nascent flirting.

Private babysitting can be arranged through the front desk. We had no trouble getting someone on a day's notice for the evening of our booking at the Pinnacle Grill, and the staff was gracious about our last-minute cancellation when our son rallied for Club HAL instead of a babysitter. Rates are reasonable: $8 per hour for the first child and $5 per hour for additional children.

Editor's Note: All children on under age 12 are required to wear a special band on their wrists or ankles that identifies their designated lifeboat station.

Fellow Passengers

Holland America is working to move beyond its reputation as a seniors' line, and there's a special push to appeal to the growing family market--with an emphasis on Maasdam as one of the fleet's designated family friendly vessels. And if HAL plays its cards right, the younger generations will become as loyal as their parents and grandparents. Shorter itineraries and cruises during school holiday periods tend to attract a higher percentage of younger passengers and families. Of the 1,200-plus passengers on Maasdam's summertime seven-night New England/Canada cruise, about 10 percent were kids, enough for children to find pals and achieve a certain critical mass, but not enough to make it a "kids cruise," which is a good thing.

In the mix of seniors, older couples, and multi-generational families, we observed the occasional small gaggle of teens and a few toddlers. There was little evidence of blushing newlyweds or electrically charged young lovers, but plenty of well-worn pairs. Many of the passengers had taken cruises before.

On Maasdam's more traditional sailings, expect a more typical Holland America devotee--a more senior crowd that appreciates the line's nod toward cruise traditions.

Dress Code

Two nights in seven are designated as formal nights in the dining room. For the majority of men, this translates as dark suits (there are some tuxes), and for women, the range was from the little black dress to larger, longer, more colorful affairs.

Editor's Note: You can order "formal night" options from the ship in advance, or even buy them from the shops. (They're cheaply made "mother of the bride" looks, but they'll do in a pinch.)

Dress codes apply to kids too. On formal nights, the girls were adorable in their "fancy" dresses; most boys wore, if not suits, than at least shirts with ties. The rest of the evenings are "smart casual," that conundrum of a description that tends to create more questions than answers, but in general means slacks or skirts for women and khakis and polo shirts or button-downs for men. Jeans, tank tops, and pool attire are discouraged from public areas.

While Maasdam does try to maintain certain standards, there's the occasional sartorial faux pas: a passenger on Lido Deck in her bathrobe, a few instances of jeans and T-shirts in the dining room. In general, these were graciously overlooked.

Gratuities

Gratuities of $10 per day per passenger (including children) are automatically added to your shipboard account statement, and you can adjust the rate (up or down) by visiting the front desk. Gratuities are shared among the service staff. If you wish, you can find your favorite bartender or cabin steward or the wine steward with a personal envelope; personal tipping is allowed. For bar bills and spa services, gratuities of 15 percent are automatically added to your bill.

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